Discussion

Boston Hound ISO Chow!

Hello Chicago Chowhounds. I am attending a convention in February and stayng at the Hilton Chicago (720 S. Michigan). Are there nearby chowish destinations? In particular, cheap eats and a dive bar or two? As always, I am grateful for any advice this group has to offer. Thanks in advance.

There are lots of excellent, moderately-priced eats and drinks within a few blocks of your hotel...

There are two nearby places for authentic, delicious Chicago-style deep-dish pizza. If you want to go for the single-crust "pizza in the pan", go to the new location of Lou Malnati's ( www.loumalnatis.com ) at 805 S. State Street. If you want to try the double-crust "stuffed" variety, go to Edwardo's ( www.edwardos.com ), at 521 S. Dearborn Street. Either way, if you don't want to wait 30-45 minutes while seated for your pizza to bake, you can phone ahead with your pizza order, so it's ready shortly after you get there.

If you feel like splurging, Custom House is nearby and offers contemporary American food with an emphasis on meats. www.customhouse.cc

For breakfast, Orange on Harrison is slightly closer, but walk the extra couple blocks to Bongo Room at Wabash and Roosevelt. They have great sweet pancake specialties like pretzel pancakes with white chocolate sauce, and blueberry pancakes with almond panna cotta sauce. If you want to try more than one dish, they are happy to serve a one-third or two-thirds portion of any pancake dish at a reduced price, instead of the standard three-pancake portion size.

If you feel like Chinese food, get on the CTA Red Line at Harrison and State and take it south a couple stops to Cermak/Chinatown. A couple blocks from the el stop is Lao Sze Chuan ( www.laoszechuan.com ), at the end of the building of shops called Chinatown Mall.

The always thorough nsxtasy mentions Hackney's and I enjoy them a lot! (plus Miller's Pub, my office is all within walking distance).

Let me add, the owners of Hackney's opened up a taco place, two doors down, Flaco's Tacos ( http://www.flacostacosonline.com/ ) that I lunch at every other week or so. Bonus, like Miller's they are open late!